The invention is related to a surgical device for application in a treatment performed on the human or animal body with the aim of providing access to a surgical site in said body, comprising expansion means suitable for exerting a force on the organs and/or tissues at said surgical site, e.g. for mobilising and/or supporting said organs and/or tissues, upon expansion of said device at the location of the surgical site, at least one fluid reservoir as well as means for conveying fluid from said reservoir to the expansion means with the aim of expanding said expansion means.
Such a surgical device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,586. It consists of an expandable tip mounted at the end of a manipulation tube. The tip can be brought into a puncture type opening in e.g. the abdominal, pelvic or chest cavities. In particular, said prior art device is suitable for application in laparoscopic or thorascopic procedures. The expandable tip itself consists of a generally hollow inflatable device member similar to a balloon. It is fabricated from a non-toxic, relatively strong, flexible and resilient material such as polypropylene or a similar type of impervious material which is flaccid and deformable in the unexpanded state. The internal space of said balloon type member can be inflated by either introducing a liquid or a gas therein.
Said prior art surgical device has several disadvantages. Due to the elastic character of the balloon type member, an energy build up occurs during expanding the balloon. The wall thereof is stretched during the process of filling the balloon, and in the case of filling the balloon with a gas energy build-up also occurs due to compression of the gas. In case in that state an inadvertent rupture of the balloon occurs, said energies are suddenly released. This results in a disastrous shock effect, which may cause severe trauma to the organs or tissues in the vicinity.
A further disadvantage of the prior art surgical device is related to the balloon shape thereof. Although a somewhat better access to the surgical site can be obtained thereby upon expansion, it nevertheless also has a shielding effect with respect to the directly adjoining tissues or organs. In those cases, the expansion member has to be moved out of the way, which complicates the surgical operation.